Back then. And coming up...

Left you hanging a little last week, didn't I?  Didn't really mean to take a week's break, but apparently wifi is a fickle little thing in the backwoods of Wisconsin.  Last week was the dreaded (by us residents) EAA convention and my family - 12 of us, including the kiddos - went on vacay to a cabin up north.  It seemed the perfect way to get out of the congestion.  This year we even rented our house to some people who own an aircraft company and needed a place to stay - it was complete insanity getting ready for them, since they didn't call us until the week before and mr happened to be in Peru... mass mayhem ensued.  Cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, lots and lots and lots more laundry, dishes, new rugs, cleaning, more cleaning and food prep/packing for our cabin trip took up pretty much all my waking hours.

I expected to start the much anticipated "Gift it" series (from my sister's laptop), but as the wifi there was somewhat uncooperative, and as we were kept quite busy with a little swimming,

jumping,

(Ezra wasted no time in jumping in the lake.  HILARIOUS watching him run down the incline in the bulky life jacket.)

kayaking, 

 row boats,

(and trying to tow the row boat WITH the kayaks...)

fishing,

(my nephew caught a seaweed fish!)

(Zoe caught the biggest fish of the week!  This isn't it... this is one of the other 3 she caught!  She was a very successful fisherman this time around.)

go-karts,

(which I couldn't ride...)


campfires, 45 minute trips into "town", old fashioned ice cream parlors, horse back riding,

and lots of mosquitos...

that, well, things didn't go quite as planned in regards to blogging.  Fortunately, this year I was NOT blinded, mr got to stay the whole time and therefore did not leave town with my car keys, and there was no devious tortilla chip blocking the needed vin number in my car window.  Mini did NOT vomit or walk around in unbalanced circles, and we did NOT get dive bombed by a bat in the middle of the night.  Also, there was air conditioning.  Which, by the looks of me, I was very grateful for.


And now, you must endure more photos.  Because I took them, and therefore someone has to look at them.

We took a "longish" hike through a forest to a river (which yielded most of yesterday's pictures):

(we found wild raspberries!  And a beaver dam!)

(honestly, the bugs and bees were awful and we were kind of glad to be done...)

and a shorter hike on the way home where we visited the highest elevation in Wisconsin, Timm's Hill.  Can't pass that opportunity up:

We saw a whole lot of wildlife - Which the kids were gaga over -

(deer, moths, honeybees, kingfisher, sandhill crane, loons, ducks... you name it!)

The view across the lake was stellar...

Even on those cloudy days.  Even on those days that were much colder and rainier than we had anticipated or desired.

And especially at the closing.

This brings me to the present.  And at present I am prepping for the amazing return of one series involving handmade gifts... (see what I did there?)
That's right!  It's August!  And time for:

Oooo, it's gonna be good.  Remember peeps, this is the series that promises to grant you the motivation AND inspiration you need to MAKE any gifts for ANY occasion you might encounter this year.  Weddings?  Check.  Teachers?  Check.  Valentines?  Birthdays?  Christmas?  Babies?  Graduations?  Bar mitzvahs?  Check!!  (well, actually, I'm not sure about the last one.  Anyone want to sign up to cover bar mitzvahs?)

You can have a totally handmade year!  Starts tomorrow.  Don't miss out!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!